1. |
Tell Shepherds
06:30
|
|||
|
Tell shepherds and did your flock stray, Or where have you been this long night, Strange visions woke me before day,
I thought it unusually bright;
Especially over yonder stall,
Where my Ox and my Ass I do keep, I hastened to see for my all,
It’s dawn go and look for your sheep;
Be still yourself man they did reply
Your cattle are safe at their hay.
Our charge at Tour-Ader hard by
This morn tho in winter is like May. And since you seem thus far concern’d, Come hither we’ll further disclose,
The wonders this night we have learned, Which happily broke our repose.
Twas midnight, the shepherds went on, We knew by the pointers and Bear,
A brightness amazing round us shone An angel amidst did appear.
Fear not, quoth he, I bring you glad news, A saviour in Bethlehem just born; Messias, Christ, King of the Jews,
All Nations shall hear of this Morn.
The truth of all this you will know, A babe in a manger you’ll find,
As soon as to town you shall go, Safely leave ye your flocks behind; On a sudden we heard and we saw, A host of sweet musick from heaven, Glory to god on high they gave, Peace to well minded sons of Men;
No sooner the vision did cease,
And we were well able to crawl,
We hastened to the mentioned place, And found it all true in your stall; Your Ox and your Ass were amazed, To warm soft breathing stood o’er,
At the Mother and Infant they gazed, More glory than we saw before.
The shepherds went back to Pen-Ader, The other went back to his stall,
To tell you how they behaved after,
In truth I know nothing at all;
The Infant is now King of glory,
Thro’ the world most renowned of men, Ye have oft heard the rest of the story,
I wish you a good Christmass, amen.
|
||||
2. |
An Angel This Night
07:08
|
|||
|
An Angel this night
Doth to the shepheards bring Most rare and joyfull news, To move all harts to sing:
A saviour from heaven
Unto the world is come
And God is now made man For mans redemption.
Here’s all the hopes of Earth And the delights of heaven, The joy of all the Angels, And the great price of men The ransome of all sinners, All captives to set free;
How can we but rejoyce, And all must merry be.
How can we but rejoyce
To heare what now is done! The Son of God made man And man made God’s true Son; God doth appeare on Earth For to Raise earth to heaven For what cause of greater Joy Could ever happen men.
Now infinite hight is low
And infinite depth is shallow,
The greatest length is short
The greatest largeness narrow,
Eternity by time Is measur’d and clos’d up Immensity confin’d And in a stable shut.
Then glory unto the Father, Who order’d all things thus, Glory unto the Son,
Who gave himself to us
Glory to the Holy Ghost, Who did this worke of heaven, Glory unto them now,
And ever more, Amen.
|
||||
3. |
Jerusalem Our Happy Home
05:03
|
|||
|
Jerusalem our happy home
When Shall we Come to thee
When Shall our Sorrows have an end
Thy Joys when Shall we See
There is no rain nor sleet or snow
Nor filth may there be found
There is no Sorrow nor no care
All joys do there abound.
Through the vast streets with purity streams
The flood of life doth flow
And on the banks of every side
The wood of life doth grow
For evermore those trees bear fruit
And evermore they Spring
And evermore the saints are glad
And evermore they sing.
Jerusalem our Happy Home
Then let us Come to thee
Our Sorrows then Shall have an end Thy Joys then Shall we see.
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
This is our Christmass day
The day of Christs birth
Yet we are far from Joy
And far from Christmass mirth On Christmass to have no masse Is our great discontent
That with out mass this day should pass Doth cause us to lament.
No masse heard this great day No mattins sung last night No bells to call to pray
No lamps, no taper light
No chalice, no rich robes
No Church no Chapple drest No Vestments precious Coapes No holy water blest.
King David in his dayes Before the Arke did dance With musick and with praise. Its honour to Advance
But we our sad Eyes fix
To see layd on the ground Our Arke our Crucifix
Our tabernacle downe.
But if Church wales could speak And Old times to us tell
If dead those graves could breake Where thousand years they dwell If that they could Arise
To preach what practis’d was We should have Preists alwayes Our Aulters and our Masse.
But good Old times are past And new bad times Are come And worser times make hast And hasten to us soone Therfore in frights and feares Those holy-dayes we pass
In sorrow and teares
We spend our Christmass.
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
Now to conclude our Christmas mirth, For the news of our redemption,
We end these songs on our saviours birth With one that deserves attention
Three great wonders fell on this day
A star brought Kings where the Infant lay, Water made wine in Gallilee,
And Christ baptized in Jordan.
Those Kings must have known what Balaam of old,
Said of a star that would rise
In Jacob’s land when he foretold,
The coming of the Messias,
Jaspar, Melchior and Balthasar,
Set out when they saw the new bright star, Leaving their eastern Kingdoms far,
To find the new born Jesus.
Amazed to see the cottage poor,
The stall perhaps where he was born, Leaving their retinue at the door
Though great they entered without scorn,
The blessed babe and Mother found, Laying their crowns and scepters down, Adored him prostrate on the ground, And might have spoken as follows,
Thou King of Kings here in disguise, Whom stars obey and Angels serve, Who Wealth and grandeur you dispise, You have given us more than we deserve, Our beds are gold and Ivory,
Our garments rich embroidery, Set with stones and pageantry, Whilst you lie in a stable.
What else might have passed you may con- ceive,
In this fond conversation,
They bid farewell taking their leave, Homewards to their habitation;
Farewell good Christians farewell too, Many a happy Christmass I wish you, With a blessed end hence to ensue, Through the merits of sweet Jesus.
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
The darkest midnight in December, No snow nor hail nor Winter’s storm, Shall hinder us for to remember,
The babe that on this night was born. With shepherds we are come to see, This lovely Infant’s glorious charms, Born of a maid as the Prophets said The god of love in Mary’s arms.
If by a Woman we were wounded, Another Woman bringes the cure, If by a fruit we were confounded,
A tree our safety would procure. They laughed at man but if they can, Let satan and his hellish swarms, Refuse to kneel and honour yield
To the lovely Babe in Mary’s arms.
Ye blessed angels join your voices,
Let your gilded wings beat fluttering oer, Whilst every soul set free rejoices,
And every Devil must adore;
We’ll sing and pray that he always may, Or Church and Clergymen Defend, God Grant us peace in all our days
A merry Christmass and a happy end.
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
An Angel this bright midnight Doth to the shepherds bring Most rare and joyful tidings To move all hearts to sing:
A saviour from heaven unto the world is come And God is now made man
For man’s redemption
The shepherds they do quickly Unto the stable run
To see this precious Baby Th’eternal Father’s Son; Without an earthly father, His mother a pure Maid,
By whom this heavenly infant Is in a manger laid.
But wits of men and angels Cannot conceive this bliss,
No heart can full resent it,
No tongue tell what it is; Wits must admire and marvel, And hearts astonish’d be,
And tongues, with joy be silent In this great mystery.
The increated person
Is now created man,
The Creator made creature
Who shall these secrets scan Who made all things of nothing A nothing is become,
Our God most great and mighty Is a poor virgin’s son.
His greatness is made humble And all his might is weak, His glory is obscurèd,
His wisdom doth not speak; His pleasures they do suffer, His treasures are in want
He made and rules the wide world, And yet he’s bare and scant.
So let us with the shepherds Unto the stable go
Those miracles and wonders For to adore and know:
With humble will and wisdom And open eyes of faith,
We shall believe and see then All that the angel saith.
|
||||
8. |
Behold Three Kings
03:22
|
|||
|
Behould three Kings come from the East Ledd by a star of stars the best
Which brought them where they did espy The King of Kings and saviour ly
With gould and myrh and frankencense They doe Adore this new born Prince.
It’s strange what did these three Kings see That might by them Adored be
A tender Babe layd on the ground
Yet they submit scepter and Crown.
Their gould their myrh, their frankencense For to Adore this new born Prince.
Then let us with those three Kings bring Our guifts unto this new born King Our Sense our will our wit our heart And all that e’re we can impart
Our gould, our myrh, our frankencense For to Adore this new born Prince.
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
The Angell said to Joseph mild
Fly with the Mother and the Child Out of this Land to Egypt go
The heavenly Babe will have it so. For that his hour is not yet Come, To die for mans Redemption.
Proud Herod he doth froth and frown Feareth to loose Kingdom and Crown Full of disdain and full of scorn
He must destroy this young King born But stay, his hour is not yet come
To die for mans Redemption.
Herod forebear this cruel flood
Of the most pure Innocent blood
To thee A Crown this Child doth bring To make thee happier than a King From highest heavens along he’s come To die for man’s Redemption.
|
||||
10. |
||||
|
A Virgin queen in Bethlehem,
This day brought fourth our saviour,
To our young king, we’ll praise and sing, And victory for ever
Hail sovereign Prince our souls defence, O! Welcome heavenly stranger,
Is there no inn nor place for him,
But in a stall or manger?
God one and three that great decree, In Heaven’s high council signed, Poor man to make of his own shape, For lasting joys designed,
The son himself for our relief To pay for our transgression, A man to be offered so free, With love beyond expression.
When his throne shall shine on clouds sublime With all Heaven’s choirs attended,
May we then stand at his right hand
To see his foes confounded.
O! God that snake made us to break Thy laws and did confound us,
Jesus we see what it cost thee,
We’ll sin no more forgive us.
|
||||
11. |
Christmas Day Is Come
05:04
|
|||
|
Christmas Day is come let’s all prepare for mirth,
Which fills the Heaven and earth at his amazing birth, Tho’ all the joyous Angels in strife and hurry fly,
With glories and Hosannas, holy, holy, they all cry.
In heaven the church triumphant adores with all her choirs, The Militant on Earth with humble faith admires.
But how can we rejoice should we not rather mourn,
To see the hope of Nations thus in a stable born,
Where is his crown and scepter, where is his throne sublime, Where is his train and majesty that should the stars outshine, Is there no sumptuous Palace nor no Inn at all,
To lodge his heavenly Mother but in a filthy stall?
Cease ye blessed angels such clamerous joys to make,
Tho Midnight silence favours the Shepherds are awake, And you O glorious star that with new splendour brings, From the remotest parts the learned Eastern Kings,
Turn some way else your lustre your rays elsewhere display, Herod will slay the babe and Christ must straight away.
Alas to teeming nature we offer rules in vain,
When faced with such a Prodigy it can’t itself contain,
The rocks were split asunder to grieve our saviour’s death, And at his resurrection the dead sprung from the Earth, Can we now expect that on his joyful birth,
The creatures should conceal their triumph and their mirth.
Then let our joys abound now all his grief is O’er,
His victory we celebrate his suffering we deplore, This was the toil and slavery that getting was for us, Your welcome twice O welcome divine savior Jesus, Your Christmass is in glory your torments are all past, What e’er betide us now grant us the same at last. Your Christmass is in glory your torments are all past, What e’er betide us now grant us the same at last.
|
||||
12. |
||||
|
Christmas Day is come let’s all prepare for mirth,
Which fills the Heaven and earth at his amazing birth, Tho’ all the joyous Angels in strife and hurry fly,
With glories and Hosannas, holy, holy, they all cry.
In heaven the church triumphant adores with all her choirs, The Militant on Earth with humble faith admires.
But how can we rejoice should we not rather mourn,
To see the hope of Nations thus in a stable born,
Where is his crown and scepter, where is his throne sublime, Where is his train and majesty that should the stars outshine, Is there no sumptuous Palace nor no Inn at all,
To lodge his heavenly Mother but in a filthy stall?
Cease ye blessed angels such clamerous joys to make,
Tho Midnight silence favours the Shepherds are awake, And you O glorious star that with new splendour brings, From the remotest parts the learned Eastern Kings,
Turn some way else your lustre your rays elsewhere display, Herod will slay the babe and Christ must straight away.
Alas to teeming nature we offer rules in vain,
When faced with such a Prodigy it can’t itself contain,
The rocks were split asunder to grieve our saviour’s death, And at his resurrection the dead sprung from the Earth, Can we now expect that on his joyful birth,
The creatures should conceal their triumph and their mirth.
Then let our joys abound now all his grief is O’er,
His victory we celebrate his suffering we deplore, This was the toil and slavery that getting was for us, Your welcome twice O welcome divine savior Jesus, Your Christmass is in glory your torments are all past, What e’er betide us now grant us the same at last. Your Christmass is in glory your torments are all past, What e’er betide us now grant us the same at last.
|
||||
Caitriona O'Leary
Caitríona is known for her performances of Early Music and Traditional Irish song. She has recorded over twenty critically
acclaimed albums. The Wexford Carols with Tom Jones, Rosanne Cash, and Rhiannon Giddens, reached #1 on Billboard.
She has performed at Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Halle Handel Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Utrecht Early Music Festival, etc.
... more
If you like The Wexford Carols, you may also like:
Tele Novella continue their mystical journey to the heart of lovelorn country & western on their upcoming Kill Rock Stars full-length.
go to album
when the poems do what they do
by aja monet
Poet aja monet explores Black resistance, love, and joy with musical backing by Chief Adjuah, Weedie Braimah, Samora Pinderhughes, and more.
go to album
Hushed folk-based songs build from feathery acoustic guitar figures and draped with layers of keys and pedal steel.
go to album
Songs of my land
by Chiyomi Yamada
Ancient Japanese folk songs are presented with Western folk-pop arrangements to haunting, elegant effect.
go to album
Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden
Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime.
go to album
An stunning debut that explores Greek folk tradition through a dreamy musical ecosystem.
go to album
Endurance Soundly Caged
by Stick In The Wheel
Adapting their calculated standards into a raw, live setting, the radical UK folk duo rework six highlights from their spellbindincatalogue.
go to album
